Officials announce JAG family service award winner

  • Published
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  Tom Hagmaier, an active volunteer within the Air Force and Judge Advocate General Corps community for more than ten years, received the 2008 Joy Dunlap Family Service Award Oct. 29 during the annual award banquet, part of the JAG Corps' Keystone Leadership Summit in Dallas.  Lt. Gen. Jack L. Rives, the Air Force Judge Advocate General, and Ms. Dunlap made the presentation.

The award is given to the JAG Corps family member who, through contributions of his or her time and talents, has made a significant contribution to the strength, health and welfare of the JAG Corps family.  It is named in honor of Ms. Dunlap, the founder of JA Spouse Connection. She has dedicated herself over the last thirty years to helping military families. Ms. Dunlap is the wife of Maj. Gen. Charles Dunlap, the Air Force deputy staff judge advocate.

Mr. Hagmaier is retired from the Air Force and is the husband of Col. Tonya Hagmaier, commandant of the Judge Advocate General's School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

At Andersen AFB, Guam, he was active with the Officers' Spouses Club and served as volunteer handyman for his base housing neighborhood. Nicknamed the "Mayor of Rota Drive," Mr. Hagmaier helped countless base residents hook up generators and share power in the aftermath of two typhoons. For his volunteer efforts, he was awarded the Angel Award.

At Bolling AFB, D.C., his weekly office drop offs of cookies led to the creation of "Cookie Wednesday;" a morale booster and welcome break for JAG Corps members. Mr. Hagmaier also was active in the JA Spouse Connection and helped host countless new spouses and family members during visits to the National Capital region.

Now, as the husband of the commandant of the Judge Advocate General's School, he attends icebreakers, graduations, welcomes and farewells for JAG and paralegals deploying to the AOR.  He also hosts meetings with Corps spouses and is often seen running with new students at physical training sessions.

His volunteer efforts within the Air Force and, particularly in the JAG Corps, have had a tremendous impact on the JAG Corps family, according to JAG officials.

When accepting the award, Mr. Hagmaier said that he was humbled by the award and that he volunteered because he believed that if he helped take care of the JAG Corps family that would help ensure his spouse could focus on getting the mission done.

Later, discussing the award, Colonel Hagmaier lauded her husband's volunteer efforts.

"The students love talking with him," she said. "The spouses trust him and I couldn't do my job without him."